Competitive climate: How the EU’s green agenda can protect the environment and economy
If Europeans pull back on their climate obligations, they will endanger both their green agenda and their competitiveness
EU instruments
Damage done: Ways to measure European sanctions’ success against Russia
The EU and its member states are applying tools of economic statecraft. Now is the time for a full assessment of how well they have worked
Bond villains: The European Central Bank’s new strategy
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
Summer resolution: How to sustain public support for Ukraine
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences
The traveller’s guide to European economic sovereignty
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world
War and sovereignty: How the EU can enhance its ability to act
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act
Code of coercion: A European sanctions doctrine
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Haters gonna hate in the privatised online world: Time to take it on
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
The EU’s sixth sanctions package: A battle of narratives
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
Publications
Border games: Has Spain found an answer to the populist challenge on migration?
Spain, and Europe, need a new story about migration – it remains to be seen how the country will put this into practice
L’Europe qui protège: Conceiving the next European Union
The EU’s survival depends on protecting its citizens from the forces it has created
Influence by default: Europe’s impact on military security in East Asia
In the continued absence of a policy, European commercial actions in the armament sector could have a destabilising impact on Asian security
Bordering on crisis: Europe, Africa, and a new approach to crisis management
Taking early steps to tackle humanitarian crises is a chance to show the EU has not entirely lost a sense of strategic purpose and that it is able to meet moral
Crimintern: How the Kremlin uses Russia’s criminal networks in Europe
European states and institutions have to consider the challenges posed by Russian-based organised crime, and adopt measures to combat it
Europe’s new counter-terror wars
European counter-terror wars risk failing to prevent attacks while weakening international law
One hundred years of British solitude: Magical thinking about Brexit and security
A British exit from the EU would make it harder to fight crime and terrorism, reduce Britain’s ability to lead and influence its partners, and weaken NATO
Paying the price: The cost of Europe’s refugee crisis
Europe can more sustainably and cost-efficiently handle refugee arrivals by centralising management at a European level
Connectivity Wars
Why migration, finance and trade are the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future
After Paris: What price European defence?
Following France’s call for European solidarity under Article 42.7, European states should rekindle defence cooperation and aid France’s deployments in Africa
Articles
Competitive climate: How the EU’s green agenda can protect the environment and economy
If Europeans pull back on their climate obligations, they will endanger both their green agenda and their competitiveness
Damage done: Ways to measure European sanctions’ success against Russia
The EU and its member states are applying tools of economic statecraft. Now is the time for a full assessment of how well they have worked
Bond villains: The European Central Bank’s new strategy
If the ECB is disciplined in its use of the recently announced Transmission Protection Instrument, this could turn out to be exactly what Europe needs
Summer resolution: How to sustain public support for Ukraine
The holiday period could erode public interest in Ukraine. Europeans should recognise that their attitudes towards Russia’s war on the country have consequences
The traveller’s guide to European economic sovereignty
Europeans have set out on a journey towards greater economic sovereignty. They will only reach their destination if they learn to navigate an interconnected world
War and sovereignty: How the EU can enhance its ability to act
The EU has made insufficient progress in enhancing its sovereignty, particularly in security and defence. The union now needs to overcome internal differences to bolster its external ability to act
Code of coercion: A European sanctions doctrine
The EU needs a sanctions doctrine – a framework to set out the goals, means, and risks for the use of economic measures
Haters gonna hate in the privatised online world: Time to take it on
No hating any time – except between Facebook and Moscow? Who governs hate online speech sheds light on the long way to go to recreating the internet as a global commons
The EU’s sixth sanctions package: A battle of narratives
In the wake of the EU’s latest set of sanctions, European leaders should work quickly to take control of the narrative around sanctions
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
Specials
The future shape of Europe: How the EU can bend without breaking
A critical mass of countries agree on the need for more flexible cooperation, but what could it look like?
Podcasts
System failure: The causes of humanitarian crises
Humanitarian crises in places like Afghanistan, Yemen or Ethiopia are not only a reflection of internal turmoil – but mirror a much grander development: system failure
The EU’s budget and recovery fund deal – a historic moment for Europe?
The over 90-hour European Council summit in Brussels ended with a deal on a €1.82 trillion financial package. What does…
Solidarity and sovereignty: a “mission possible” for Germany’s EU Council Presidency?
In his opening remarks at our virtual Annual Council Meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, spoke about Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU…
Europe’s way out of the coronavirus crisis: from self-interest to solidarity?
The coronavirus crisis brought about financial hardship for the European Union, and many agree that a recovery fund would be needed to overcome it. In…
The EU recovery plan – rather a “Merkron” than a “Hamiltonian” moment?
The recent Franco-German proposal for an EU recovery fund sparked a lively debate on possible changes in EU’s nature, suggesting that the plan to raise…
Can Europe catch up in the digitalisation and innovation race?
During the Munich Strategy Forum 2019, host Mark Leonard sat down Toomas Ilves, the former president of Estonia aka the first smart country and “digital…
Three crises and an opportunity: Europe’s stake in multilateralism
The multilateral system faces three related crises of power, relevance, and legitimacy. This fraying consensus threatens the EU, which is committed to multilateralism. But the…
The crisis in Venezuela: What does Europe’s move mean?
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Federica Paddeu, and Sergey Sukhankin, about what risks the recognition of Juan…
Could EU entry bans protect human rights?
Anthony Dworkin speaks with Gerald Knaus about how the EU can protect human rights and prevent rising illiberalism. Bookshelf: Moral Tribes by Joshua…
The sanctions weapon
Mark Leonard speaks with Erica Moret and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about European sanctions policies, secondary sanctions and counter measures. The podcast was recorded on the…
Events
1 Jul
Dormant NATO: Future Prospects and Challenges
Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown how much the Europeans are still dependent on the US to ensure their security, despite all the talk of…
12 Mar
BERLIN-MADRID-PARIS-ROME Quadrilateral Dialogue – Europe in the post-US elections scenario
Building on the success and results of the 2023 Project “France-Italy-Germany Trilateral Dialogue: in Pursuit of a common agenda”, the 2024 Quadrilateral Project will continue to promote intra-European dialogue between capitals, extending last year’s trilateral format to Spain
27 Feb
A Europe fit for the digital age: dream or reality?
Terzo appuntamento della prima serie di tre working lunch realizzati congiuntamente da ECFR Roma, SDA Bocconi e l’Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University
6 Dec
L’allargamento e il futuro dell’Unione europea
Secondo appuntamento di una serie di tre working lunch realizzati congiuntamente da ECFR Roma, SDA Bocconi e l’Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University
25 Oct
Global Gateway Africa – Geopolitica, investimenti e prospettive per l’Italia
L’evento si concentrerà su come Il settore privato costituisca una componente fondamentale per l’attuazione del Global Gateway e sulle opportunità che questo può rappresentare
21 Feb
Can Europe stand up to Chinese and Russian economic coercion?
The European Council on Foreign Relations in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU is delighted to invite you to a debate on the principles that should guide Europe’s quest for economic sovereignty
23 Jun
Anti-Coercion Instrument: How the EU can counter sanctions, boycotts and economic blackmailing
This event is the second webinar in a two-part series on current developments in the global use of economic coercion
29 Mar
Multilateralism after the pandemic: cooperation in a competitive world
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a changing international order into sharp focus, highlighting both our heightened interdependence and also the obstacles to global cooperation. As…
23 Mar
Anti-Coercion Instrument: How can Europe best protect itself from economic coercion?
What kind of countermeasures will protect Europe, keep markets open and support a functional global trade order?
3 Feb
The Geopolitics of the Green Deal
How to manage the geopolitical aspects of the European Green Deal and lead climate change efforts globally
In the media
We should not expect this majority to have its own solidity and political project. The political project is in the hands of Ursula von Der Leyen
So far, EU members have been buying mostly US weapons. Now there is a chance that European arms concerns will start cooperating and thus there will be greater security in Europe
I do not think that Schengen is fatally threatened, but rather that there are certain limitations
I would say that EU looks at India from three different perspectives: as a growing trade partner; as a component in its de-risking strategy from China; as a strategic gateway to reach the Global South
Orban is using Hungary’s presidency as a platform to make his own national agenda more visible at international level
